Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil, Vol. 19

by Dennis O'Neil

Collects Daredevil (1964) #204-214 and material from Marvel Fanfare (1982) #15.

David Mazzucchelli, the artist of the top-selling story Born Again, makes his Daredevil debut! Dennis O'Neil continues his celebrated DAREDEVIL run, and joining him is one of the series' most influential art David Mazzucchelli! Mazzucchelli grows from a fresh new talent to an absolute comic-art master at an unbelievable pace, and his early issues are collected here for the first time. Throughout the stories in this volume, Micah Synn emerges as a formidable antagonist, uncovering Daredevil's identity and competing with the Kingpin for criminal control of New York City. As the conflict unfolds, Daredevil must navigate Synn's manipulations and do the join with Kingpin to defeat Synn! This volume also features a story by sci-fi master Harlan Ellison, the debut of Glorianna O'Breen and a brutal experience for Foggy and Debbie Nelson!

Genres: Comics

296 pages, Hardcover

Published June 10, 2025

About the author

Dennis "Denny" O'Neil was a comic book writer and editor best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retirement.

His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t really enjoy the Micah Synn storyline, the end of which is collected in this volume, when I first read it and it hasn’t improved with age.

I just don’t believe a third-rate Tarzan knock-off could give DD so much trouble that it would take our crimson-clad swashbuckler over a year’s worth of issues to get rid of him.

Still, this volume does include David Mazzucchelli’s arrival as artist on the book and I love his work, particularly when he inks his own stuff.

3.3 stars.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

End of Micah Synn's run, which began in the previous volume. Thank God for small mercies.

I don't know what was going through O'Neill's mind when he created this cardboard Tarzan psycho, but we would all have been better off without him.
So overall, the plot is bad, too long, and the characters are crude and uninteresting. We also wonder what the Kingpin is doing in this mess; his presence is out of place. Debbie, on the other hand, is wonderfully detestable, but she can't save the day when we're faced with a mouldy wizard and sacrifices to a carnival god.
Otherwise, O'Neill introduces Glorianna O’Breen and The Gael, whom we'll also have the opportunity to see again later in the series. The Irish colour is so thick it looks caricatural.

In the end, only the artwork saves the series from a 1* rating. David Mazzucchelli illustrates a good part of the episodes. He is young, not yet the great artist he will soon become. Especially since he is mainly inked by Danny Bulanadi, and it doesn't work. However, he inks the very last story himself, and there we already sense that a line has been crossed toward greatness.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally going back to read the pre-Miller Mazzucchelli run. It's actually pretty good. Mazzucchelli looks fantastic here already. The main villain is this jungle man called Micah Synn who somehow has Daredevil on the ropes with a restraining order... it doesn't really make too much sense. O'Neil also does that thing where he gets Daredevil to over explain his powers to the point where it doesn't make any sense. Like how he smells the rope of a crossbow etc, it just makes Daredevil seem actually powerless.

There's also a really fun Harlan Ellison penned story here. Well worth checking out for fans of Mazzucchelli and die-hard Daredevil fans.

[John Peel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This entire book collects most of the almost endless story of Daredevil battling Micah Synn. It might have worked for three or four issues, but eleven just drags it out. Still, there's a brief respite in the middle with a Harlan Ellison story that's a pretty decent revenge tale.